Let him go
by Arya Cahill
Summary: Since they left Zo, Zoro had a lot of time to think about the recent events. Alone, lost in his thoughts, he doesn't seem to be able to make up his mind on the matter. Perhaps what he needs is a bit of help from his nakamas.


Their journey to Wa no Kuni was quiet. Almost too quiet. Which wasn't helping the whirlwind of thoughts in his mind. At least, if they had encountered strong opponents, he could have been able to release the pressure. Since the moment he knew what had happened, Zoro had been more stressed than he had been since the crew's separation in Sabaody. The events that occurred after their reunion hadn't been worrisome enough in his opinion to get him anxious.

But this was a different call this time. It wasn't some marine officer or shishibukai, but one of the emperors. Big Mom to put it simply!

The swordsman didn't understand why no one was taking it more seriously. They didn't need another emperor on their trail when they already angered one. The crew's members who were with him didn't seem to see what was wrong. Like it was just another rescue mission and everything was going to be fine. No big deal. Nothing unusual. Right? In addition to that, he couldn't stop thinking about what was going on Whole Cake Island.

Was Luffy in difficulty? He shouldn't doubt, he knew what his captain was capable of, but Big Mom? She was on a completely different level from what they were used to. Were the others okay? Nami and the others had improved, Zoro was perfectly aware of that, but he couldn't help himself from being worried with them so far from him. Pedro and Carrot had to be dragged into this mess. Well, it was more Pedro because Carrot had sneaked into the ship without the concerned parts' agreement.

Why was he so anxious about it? Not only because of the previous reasons, he was sure of it.

He stopped doing push-ups to sat on the look-out post's floor of the submarine. The swordsman set his gaze on the horizon, breathing heavily from all the effort. Fishes were swimming around the Polar Tang, sometimes happily chasing after one another, sometimes poking at the window. Their good mood was a clear contrast with his. Since their departure, he isolated himself in this room most of the time, not wanting to get mad at his nakamas without intending to, hoping doing his usual workout would calm him. Flash news, it didn't.

All of this because of the Cook.

Zoro trusted Sanji to protect the crew when he wasn't there to do it himself. He trusted him with his life. And when they had come back to them on Zo, he was gone. Without nothing more than a crappy note, with no reason good enough for him.

 _To my buds:_

 _There's this chick I got to see really quickly._

 _I'll be back._

 _I promise._

 _Sanji._

So, what? All he needed was a wedding proposal and a girl to go away? Maybe Zoro was a little overreacting but he couldn't manage to get it all out of his head. He couldn't stop thinking about what was going on there. What if the blond doesn't want to go back with them? What if it was a trap set by Big Mom? Because of the events of Fishman Island, she was already a "little" begrudging them the loss of her candies and cakes.

Wanting to put all his energy to forget about the stupid love-cook, Zoro was about to start lifting weight when his attention was captured by a sound in the hallway. Soon enough the door opened quietly, followed by the step of his companions, Usopp and Robin, that he barely saw these lasts days because of his need to be alone to think and calm down by his own means, which has been unsuccessful for now. Robin had brought him a bottle of sake and two cups of coffee for Usopp and her. Usopp was already sat and tinkering at a radio to make it work again while she gave him his share. Zoro's gaze drifted between each of them, judging whether they'll try to make him talk about the situation or just want to spend time drinking with him. He knew what it'll be when Robin and Usopp shared a look. The Talk it is then. Zoro sighed.

"Zoro, we couldn't not notice that you were quite… left out these last few days." Robin said, quietly.

Usopp fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable.

"It wasn't difficult to deduce the recent events that occurred on Zo and what is going on Whole Cake Island have something to do with it." Usopp added.

The first mate drank a few sips and wiped his mouth with his hand.

"It's the second time that I see you that angry… or distressed and we both know when the first time was. Somehow, I think it's even worse. "

At those words, Usopp looked up from his radio, seeming paler. He gave them an unsure gaze from which they replied with a nod. He sighed. _Oh… That was at That period. Sometimes, the guilt was still nagging at him like a relentless phantom. It was getting better and better with each day but the reminder of what he did will never leave him._

"And? What if it is?" Zoro grunted. "Let me ask you a question as well: why aren't you more upset about this? I don't get."

They both looked at each other, seeming to agree at something that was unknown to him.

"Franky, Robin and I talked while you were…sulking" Usopp began –not stopping when Zoro exclaimed "I am not sulking!" – "You're not the only one you know. We are angry too, but we are angry at the circumstances. Not at him or them. Because if it wouldn't have been for the alliance and that whole thing with Wa, we would have come to save and get Sanji back as well, like he did so many times already for us."

Zoro stayed silent to those words. Robin smiled like she knew what he was thinking about.

"Sanji-san was the first to get on the train to save me. It didn't matter to him that he didn't know everything about what was going on yet, he did it anyway. On his own." Robin told.

"Not to mention that he also saved my life there. Twice. When he freed me on the Puffing Tom and when Sanji prevented Jabura to kill me and took over the fight. If he hadn't been there that day, well…it's safe to say that I wouldn't be here either" Usopp reminded.

Zoro put his gaze to the other side of the room, thinking about everything they said.

"Why Franky isn't present to this little reunion?" He wondered.

"He is helping the submarine's mechanics to improve their techs. And we thought we would be better at this kind of things." Robin replied with a sly smile.

He snorted.

"Talking me out of my sulking?"

He couldn't believe they set him up into discussing for that. It's ridiculous!

"No. To convinced you to be honest with yourself and us. Since it's clearly the one thing you're not doing right now."

No… They're wrong. It's not the only thing.

"Do you remember when Sanji was speaking with Luffy about the reasons of Robin's departure?" Usopp asked.

Zoro opened his mouth to answer but Usopp beat him to it.

"Because I do. I was next to him with Franky on the train's roof. You were so worried about him that you'll even disagree with Luffy's order for Sanji to go ahead and give them hell to get Robin back."

Zoro sighed, a bit embarrassed by this, remembering what the cook's reply to his concern had been which had given him all the reasons to keep his worries at bay, so that Sanji wouldn't tease him again.

"Yeah, right, maybe I was-" He stopped when he saw Robin and Usopp's faces. "I was actually worried and maybe I am a little bit worried about him, but really, that's more about Luffy and the others- "

"Which is why you've been listening…or should I say spying on the reunion while they talked about him?" Robin chuckled.

He grunted, knowing there was no way he would change their mind now that they were so sure about that. Which was true, not that he was going to admit it though.

"As for being angry or anything like that, you know like us what had been his motivations. He didn't have much of a choice."

Zoro nodded, knowing perfectly what she was referring to. The first mate knew she was right. He sighed. They both were.

Indeed, Nami explained to them that Brook, Chopper, Caesar – even if they didn't care about him- and she had been hostages of the Fire Tank Pirates and there hadn't been any way to beat all the opponents -which Sanji could have been perfectly capable of- without putting any of them in danger. In addition to that, they clearly threatened the lives of the cooks of the Baratie and above all, Zeff's life, Sanji's foster father.

The thing was … he was not angry at Sanji or the others. Zoro was angry at himself for not going after him. For not going to rescue him. He knew that he should be there, but he's not. And that's the whole thing really. He's not here with him with whatever might happen.

When Kuma transferred Luffy's pain to him, the first thing Sanji had done when he woke up was to run and look for him, scared as hell that his nakama might be dead. He helped him kept what he did a secret from Luffy and the crew. He already knew before that that he could count on him for anything, but he had his confirmation that he would do anything for Luffy that day when Sanji offered to take the pain instead of him. He trusted him to do what was right and had to be done. But somehow, because of his strength, he had forgotten that Sanji was a part of the crew he had to protect too.

What was probably worse is that he had purposefully gotten away from him recently because of …feelings he couldn't handle. After the events of Thriller Bark, he had grown more and more attached to the cook and he thought that if he kept his distances, these emotions would fade away. He thought that would be easy. What a success it had been! And what a fool he had been! The swordsman missed Sanji like he couldn't believe he would one day and he was worried as hell. After he tried to bury his feelings unsuccessfully, he was now regretting it, what an irony! He should have come with them to get him back but since he was the first mate, he was automatically in a different group than that of Luffy.

In some way, the Talk they just had had cleared things out for him and he was feeling lighter than before, like a weight had been taken from him and he was seeing things clearer. His lips moved to form a smile and his face softened.

Usopp stopped tinkering with his radio -seemingly repaired now as they were able to hear some music coming from it- and looked at him. Smiling at Robin who smiled in return, he got up and she imitated him, like they did their duty and were proud of it.

"Well, Swordsman-san, it seems everything's back to normal. I hope that now things are sorted out, we'll get to see you more often up there." She said while winking at him, which got him a smirk.

"Oh yes! Zoro you should see the things Franky and I built with some members of the crew, it's so awesome it's going to blow your mind!" Usopp exclaimed excitedly.

Zoro chuckled, amused by the enthusiasm of his nakama.

"I can't wait to see that, but for now I'm going to stay a bit more here. To… you know, think a little more."

"Suit yourself!" Usopp shouted while he left the room with Robin.

Zoro layed down, his arms behind his head, thinking about the whole thing.

In the room, the radio Usopp had left was broadcasting a song that was making him think about his own situation. The song was somehow expressing his feeling way better than him which was not surprising given how gifted he was with words.

" _Well you only need the light when it's burning low  
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow  
Only know you love him when you let him go  
And you let him go_

You see him when you close your eyes  
Maybe one day you'll understand why  
Everything you touch surely dies

Well you see him when you fall asleep  
But never to touch and never to keep  
'Cause you loved him too much and you dived too deep

Only know you've been high when you're feeling low  
Only hate the road when you're missing home  
Only know you love him when you let him go  
And you let him go"

Zoro sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do about it right now.

''Why is it always me that get into the most troublesome situations? What a mess."

He stayed in this room for another hour before someone else decided to barge in without knocking at the door. The captain of this ship entered, his cap on his head and Kikoku blocked against his shoulder with his left arm.

"Zoro-ya, apparently we just got the newspapers." Trafalgar Law said, "Maybe we'll get some information about Luffy-ya so come upstairs with me."

The swordsman got up and followed him through all those corridors. Trafalgar might think he's subtle, but he could see when he looked behind him as quick and discreetly as possible to see if he was still following. What if he had been lost a "few" times in this submarine? It's not his fault if those corridors all look the same!

They finally got to the common room where both crews were reunited as well as Kinemon, Kanjuro and Raizu. Franky, Robin and Usopp smiled at him when he entered, relieved that he really was better enough to get out of the room he locked himself in a few hours per day. Zoro smiled back at them, somehow feeling guilty that they were worried about him too.

"Hey! Look at that! Seems like our captain and the others made quite the mess!" Franky laughed.

At those words, Trafalgar yanked the newspaper out of Franky's hand to read it, frantic. He seemed to be paler and paler as he read to finally look resigned. The Surgeon of Death gave it to Zoro, sighing.

"They were supposed to try to be discreet… Why did I even believe he could do that?" The Heart's captain said, shaking his head, exasperated.

Zoro smirked, reading all the mess his Captain did, and laughed when the reporter pictured him as the mastermind of the whole operation because, honestly? That was probably the funniest thing he had read. He stopped reading though, when arriving at the part where they think Luffy will soon become the fifth emperor -he couldn't feel prouder- because there were laughs and a lot of excitement at the other side of the room.

"What's going on?"

"Apparently the new bounties arrived with the newspaper as well." Law answered, rolling his eyes and handing him a sheet of paper.

Luffy had a bounty of one billion and five hundred million! He smirked, his captain had definitely outdone himself this time!

But what got his attention was the sight of Franky and Usopp snickering and Robin softly giggling while looking at him.

"What?" He grunted.

"Tell me again, Bro. How much were you worth already?"

He had a bad impression, something wasn't right.

"You already know it. Three hundred and twenty million. Why?"

Then he landed his gaze on the sheet of paper Robin hold. No. That couldn't be true. That must be a horrible hallucination, it couldn't be otherwise. If it was, he was never going to hear the end of it. Sanji will tease him to no end. Urgh…

On the bounty poster, he could clearly read the amount of the bounty that will cause the end of his peace.

Vinsmoke Sanji – 330 million of Berrys

"DAMN COOK! ''

* * *

Hi!

I hope you liked this fic! : )

I wanted to write this for a while. Well, mostly since I saw Zoro's reaction to Sanji's departure in Zo because it bothers me. I mean, he's not here to tease you, no need to act like you don't care and be so rude. Especially when it's obvious he cares about him. So I needed to correct it because it bugged me. ; )

Don't hesitate to tell me advices or anything to help me improve myself (because English isn't my native language, I'm French ; )).

This fic will be translated in French in a few days.

One Piece belongs to Oda and the song "Let her go", that I slightly modified, to Passenger.

Bye!


End file.
